A self-consistent and time-dependent hybrid blazar emission model - Properties and application

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive, time-dependent hybrid emission model for blazar jets that incorporates particle acceleration and radiative processes, enabling detailed analysis of blazar variability across all energy bands.

Contribution

The model uniquely combines Fermi acceleration mechanisms with all relevant radiative processes, including proton interactions and pair cascades, for a self-consistent blazar emission simulation.

Findings

Able to reproduce multi-band variability patterns of blazars

Demonstrates the impact of relativistic protons on high-energy emission

Provides a framework for constraining jet parameters through observations

Abstract

A time-dependent emission model for blazar jets, taking acceleration due to Fermi-I and Fermi-II processes for electrons and protons as well as all relevant radiative processes self-consistently into account, is presented. The presence of highly relativistic protons within the jet extends the simple synchrotron self-Compton case not only in the very high energy radiation of blazars, but also in the X-ray regime, introducing non-linear behaviour in the emitting region of the model by photon-meson production and emerging electron positron pair cascades. We are able to investigate the variability patterns of blazars in terms of our model in all energy bands, thus narrowing down the parameters used. The blazar 1 ES 1011+496 serves as an example of how this model is applied to high frequency peaked BL Lac Objects in the presence of non-thermal protons within the jet. Typical multiband patterns are derived, which are experimentally accessible.